Over the last decades, women have more and more been moving into jobs usually associated with men, and several nonprofit health groups including Breast Cancer Action, and Breast Cancer Fund, have joined together to ascertain the health impacts on women in traditionally males roles. They have now issued a report to look at the health impacts of firefighting on women.
The study began as concern increased at the high incidence of pre menopausal breast cancer among women in the San Francisco fire department. As of 2012, 10 out of 117 female San Francisco firefighters between the ages of 40 and 50 had contracted breast cancer, and one had died. That was a breast cancer rate at 8.5% which is nearly six times the national average for women in the same age bracket.
Some workplaces and chemicals which firefighters are traditionally exposed to, such as asbestos, may be more dangerous to women than to men as women have more fat tissue where some chemicals accumulate and they tend to have lower body weight, which can reduce the amount of asbestos exposure that is safe. Moreover, females have a different balance of hormones than men, which can affect how those hormones interact with some chemicals. In short, workplace chemicals and asbestos can impact women differently than men, and in some cases may pose a larger threat.
If you or someone you know is suffering from an asbestos related disease, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, or lung cancer, contact the Law Office of Brayton Purcell, LLP at (800) 598-0314 immediately, or contact us online for a free consultation. You may be entitled to an asbestos payout as part of an individual or class action lawsuit.
